Quality Products International

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With the development of the global economy, people pay more attention to the green consumer goods, and prefer to choose the products that do no harm to people’s health or the environment.

To ensure the product quality and safety, European countries and the US have introduced many regulations in these years. Ie>, the EU published 2009/251/EC on March 17, 2009 to forbid companies to sell products with DMFU.

In June 2010, California Proposition 65 requires the importers, manufacturers and retailers of footwear and leather goods to impose strict control on products that contain restricted substances such as lead and phthalates, otherwise the product sales are illegal. Also, starting from 1^st July , 2010, the EU directive 2009/425/EC will restrict the content of Organotin in consumer goods. In addition, the continuous updates of the CPSIA and REACH will bring more and more challenges to China’s companies.

Contact QPI Ltd for assistance with third party independent sampling from factory production and / or lab testing to confirm your product is compliant.

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The Canadian government recently announced that: According to the mouth contact users or toys used by under 3 years children, the lead limit must bellow 90mk/kg. the releated laws and regulations will take effected from 26^th Nov,2010.

Contact QPI Ltd, if you need assiatnce testing your product.

Our staff can liasie with your factory and if approriate we can send inspectors to collect samples.

All testing is performed by QPILtd lab partners, whih have relevant arreditaions.

The official end to CNY is the Lantern Festival.

So that means all is back to normal right? Well maybe maybe not. As we detail below QPI Ltd is recommending additional vigilance, by way of Dupro as well as PSI to ensure you protect the investment of your production / shipment, now more than any other time in the year!

Of note, the Spring Lantern Festival in China should not be confused with the Mid Autumn festival, also referred to as a “lantern festival”, and especially popular in Singapore and other parts of South East Asia.

The Lantern Festival on the 15^th day of the lunar year, is the last “official” family celebration, and is typically market with a meal including Yan Xiao, or Glutinous Rice normally wrapped in bamboo or leaves.

There are many different beliefs and traditions, including the notion of having bright lanterns out to welcome the full moon, lighting the way for people out enjoying the advent of spring, and fostering relationships between families.

It was also traditional to chaperon young people with bright lanterns symbolic of good luck and prospective matchmaking.

In terms of business, it meant that the family obligation for CNY was officially over. While many people would have returned to work sooner many would not.

It was interesting to witness many of the small stores and street stalls did not reopen until a few days after the lantern festival.

You may have found factories have been returning emails since a few days after the week of “official CNY holiday”,  however in many cases delays in information will be due to the fact that key personnel are still a away.

We have had some suppliers who were waiting for middle managers to return to work to quote on new products.

Even now, well into March business ranging from major factories to small cafes are still working hard to attract the staff they need to function properly.

Finally now we are finding China is gradually coming back to normal business after their major holiday.

As we warned, in our QPI Ltd CNY Alert Blog, buyers should exercise extra caution.

QPI Ltd particularly recommend additional Dupro (During Production) Inspections.

A high majority of the workers on the factory floor / production line, will be new the factory, the industry of indeed the concept of factory / production!

Many middle managers and QC managers may also be new to the factory and your product.

It could in effect mean that the factory that was producing your product so reliably last year, is now effectively (from a work force & QC perspective) producing it for the first time!

QPI Ltd, is happy to help by providing, Dupro and FRI / PSI (Final Random Inspection / Pre Shipment Inspection) at a competitive rate.

What a great headline! All is well in Foxconn and we can all get back to enjoying our little electronic toys and tools without having to worry about poor Chinese workers having to kill themselves in order to make a statement about working conditions.

OK I’ll admit sarcasm is not a good way to make a point but it is funny that this headline popped up a little after I wrote about the factory social audits that need to be done regularly. The problem is that only when you get down to the second half of the article in question is when you see what was done to fix the problem. Foxconn has doubled each workers wage over the past couple of months and at the same time it has reduced the amount of overtime hours from 80 hours per month to 36 hours per month. The funny thing is that previous to this announcement Foxconn professed to treat their workers better than anyone else and they had no cause to complain. Unfortunately 80 hours per month is more than double the international standard and is in fact more than double the amount allowed by Chinese law as well. So it seems that the workers were not being treated as well as they wished us to believe. Considering the problems that the company was having with its workers one might draw the conclusion that overtime was a requirement and not a request as is more common in the west (although one might think that is changing there too). In that case it is no wonder the poor workers were killing themselves. Sure they had all sorts of recreation facilities and activities but, if one is too tired to do anything except show up for work (since you have to work an extra 2 weeks every month just to keep your job), then what use are they?

Considering that the working conditions did not adhere to international standard nor local law, why did everyone say that the factories were fine? Of course there is a certain amount of ass covering in all this but one has to wonder if a proper third party social audit of the company and factories might have uncovered this a bit sooner and maybe headed off the problem to start with. Regular external audits of the factories and conditions should be part of any company’s strategy for doing business in China and the rest of S.E. Asia. QPI Ltd. Is well placed to help with such needs and is in an excellent position to provide independent audits of your manufacturing facilities.

For the full article in the China Daily online click here.

Author: M. Charlin

A recent article from China started me thinking on how the Chinese economy will evolve in the coming years.  The article deals with the wages growth in the Chinese economy.

An income survey report, based on 5,866 enterprises in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou,
released by Zhaopin.com in July, shows that the average wage rise was 10.1 percent so
far this year, 1.9 percentage points higher than 2009.

The statistics from Zhaopin.com show that from 2006 to 2008 wages steadily increased, with
the rate peaking at 13.8 percent in 2008. However, because of the financial crisis in 2009 the
rate dropped 8.2 percent, its lowest rate during the last five years.

“Although they are up again in 2010, and higher than 2007, the rate still hasn’t reached the peak
of 2008,” said Zhao Lipeng, senior payment consultant with Zhaopin.com. “However, in Beijing
the speed of the rises slowed, but wages still increased in 2009,” he added.

Zhao thinks that the 2008 peak is likely to be reached again sometime next year, which means
that many employees will remain disappointed this year.

“Last year, many employees didn’t get a pay rise because of the financial crisis and their
expectation this year is as high as 21.8 percent,” Zhao told METRO.

“I am still waiting for a rise this year and I hope it will be more than 30 percent,” said Eric Hu,
a 25-year-old, who works for a consulting company in Beijing.

The report shows that the top three industries for wage rises in Beijing are finance, IT and
advertising. Labor-intensive industries, such as manufacturing and the service industry, have
the lowest rises.

By Wang Chen: Wages Rise but don’t meet expectations, China.org,
http://www.china.org.cn/business/2010-07/28/content_20588480.htm

So what does this have to do with your manufacturing in China?  Well you can see that costs are going up. Labour is probably the biggest cost savings in moving manufacturing to China in the first place. Now you are seeing an average increase of just under 10% in the cost base.  Admittedly this is substantially less in the manufacturing industry but the cost is still increasing.  What does bear watching is that the export industry is not growing at the same rate.  The economies of the United States and Europe do not show the growth necessary to fuel this increase from China.

What can fuel income growth? Two main  thrusts, growth in markets increasing scarcity and thus profit, or increasing productivity which reduces costs and increases profits.  Considering the technology already available for manufacturing in Asia the idea of increased productivity being able to absorb this cost increase by itself is not sustainable in my opinion.  At some point Chinese manufacturers will have to look at other markets/products  or fail.  Either that or suddenly costs to manufacture in China will start to increase to keep pace with increased labour costs.  It happened in Japan and Taiwan and it will happen here.

Some manufacturers will stoop to cutting corners, not just on materials but also in labour areas.  This is an area that is rarely checked once the initial audit or survey is performed.  This lack has caused problems in the past.  A large sportswear manufacturer in the U.S. attracted much bad publicity due to the conditions in the factories where the products were produced.  Initial investigations by the company found things above board but, as cost pressures increased, unsavory practices crept in until someone found out. This cost the company a great deal of lost goodwill and money in cleaning up the problem.

Since labour is such a large component of costs of production in most cases it is seen as an area where there is scope for savings.  A more modern example is the issues currently facing Foxconn in China.  It is not enough to pay your workers well but to also treat them well.  Treating your labour force as just parts in a machine will eventually cause them to crack.  In earlier times this may have been the cost of doing business not only in China but in the West as well.  Just think back to the early days of the industrial revolution and the factories using women and young children.  However in the modern age these practices even if practiced elsewhere on the planet will reflect badly and publicly on the companies involved.

A yearly audit or survey should be part of a company’s standard operating procedure to combat such cost cutting and also to keep abreast of changes.  QPI Ltd. Offers a number of cost effective Audit services to keep your company informed of your partners in Asia both at the factory floor and their current solvency.

Author:   M. Charlin

QPI Ltd CN – 简体中文版 |    QPI Ltd HK – 繁體中文版

My name is David, I am local guy from Guangdong and have been with QPI now for 4 years, working mainly with the product development and assisting with quality control.

Today as I was in the area visiting some nearby factories and took the opportunity to visit Hanse Control’s very new China Lab in Dongguan.

You may know that QPI management was invited to the recent Hanse Control opening.

We had some samples from one of our Malaysian Factories that required testing, so it provided a good opportunity to meet the managers at Hanse Control and have a first-hand look at the facilities.

Hans Control is a German test company with 30 years of experience. The style of the offices and laboratory reflects that.

Clean, neat, well laid out and functional!

…..complete with a German Flag in the canteen.

Many of our customers enjoy the convenience of QPI’s close relationship with Hanse Control.

Their main focus is on garment / textile, shoe, and electronics based tests, such as EN71, REACH, RoHS, Heavy Metals, AZO Dye, and many more.

See Chemical Testing and Physical Testing.

Some key advantages they offer include functional fast turn-around, competitive pricing and very convenient location.

Their testing procedures replicate those of their German parent company.

Their equipment is some of latest and best available. One key to their competitive pricing and fast order processing is the level of automation.

As the goods are received for testing a job sheet is raised on the computer, for many of the tests, the test results are automatically fed into the job sheet.

It streamlines the generation of the report saving time and cost as well as greatly reducing the chance of data entry errors.

Another key to their competitive pricing is that they quote each job dependant on only the required tests – no unnecessary tests that would raise the cost.

Many jobs can be package  into to a cost effective option and there are no charges for unnecessary testing!

It was very impressed to see the famous German efficiency in action!

The news has been full of incidents relating to design or manufacturing flaws lately.  The most visible and long lasting of these has been the supposed design flaw in the new iPhone 4 from Apple.   There have also been some expensive and embarrassing recalls of promotional drinking glasses from McDonalds in their Happy Meals Shrek promotions.

Both of these events show how much damage a small slip can create.  In the case of the Apple problems this has been exacerbated by the response the company chose to take.  In both cases a more stringent approach to quality may have highlighted the problem before it became an issue.  Notice I said ‘may have’,  a quality inspection regime is not fool proof, though input of third party Quality Assurance specialists can certainly help!

In Apple’s case I am sure that they very stringent quality checks in place.  It is not in their interests or style to deliver a faulty product.  The fact that a simple cover that insulates the antenna from the electric effects of skin contact may have been what masked the condition.  Most people including the engineers on the testing panel would try to protect the device they are using, the bumper covers are easy to use,  install, and have been around for the other iPhones for some time.  It is impossible to cover all the bases.

While we already knew about it, the official AppleCare response is sad news. Like Gizmodo reader and former RF engineer for HP Medical products Gordon Cook said in a recent email: “Wrapping a metal antenna around a phone is simply asking for trouble, and Apple may in fact have realized too late that they had a real can of worms, so chose to release what they had instead of enduring a lengthy shipping delay. Now, after millions of phones shipped, and given the alternatives, screwing with the software is the only realistic way of fixing this, even if it’s mostly cosmetic.”

AppleCare: The iPhone 4 Update Won’t Solve the Antenna Problem, Gizmodo

But cosmetic fixes will not stop the problem from happening. Apple should provide with a real fix to a design problem that ruins what could have been the best smartphone experience out there, bar none. And if they can’t fix the units currently in the market, they should fix their manufacturing so this doesn’t happen and at least provide with a free solution, like free bumpers or cases.

This case has more to do with the response than the original fault but it does show that even very stringent test can fail to pick up a problem.  The fact remains that without those test and checks the problems will magnify and cause more problems.

The McDonalds issue was more straight forward. It seems that the company involved in manufacturing the promotional glassware was not aware of the heavy metal content in the ingredients used to make them.  In this economy and social environment it behooves the manufacturer and / or the seller to make sure of the products that are being sold.  The incidence of lead and other heavy metals in pigments, dyes,  and paints means that it is prudent to check for their presence, especially in toys for young children and containers designed to contain food or other consumable products.  Was this checked for?  Yes it was. The problem arose when it was not checked against a newer standard being implemented.

“It could have been any glass company,” said Ron Biagi, an executive with Arc International, which made the glasses. “We all do the same thing using materials from the same suppliers.”

McDonald’s said the U.S.-made glasses met federal guidelines for cadmium under testing conducted by a CPSC-approved lab. CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson, however, said the glasses fall short of standards for the toxic metal that the agency is in the process of developing.

McDonald’s Recall: ‘Shrek’ Glasses Contain Toxic Metal Cadmium, The Huntington Post

There has also been talk lately of complex chemical compounds such as thalates being a problem.  These thalates are used in all sorts of soft plastics including many food packaging products.  The minefield of chemical and safety restrictions in different product categories is expanding exponentially every day.  A comprehensive and regular test for standards compliance should be part of every manufacturer’s arsenal.  Not only will regular tests and inspections reduce the chance of suffering a product recall or bad press on a quality issue but will also give the manufacturer’s customers peace of mind that the products they are buying have been tested and continue to be tested for compliance with the relevant safety standards and regulations.

For any quality assurance, quality inspection or audit needs please contact QPI Ltd

Author M. Charlin

QPI Ltd CN – 简体中文版 |    QPI Ltd HK – 繁體中文版

Quality Products International offers services across Asia, with a strong focus on China manufacturing and

quality control management. The Chinese operations are managed and operated by local and expatriate staff.

Our services include:

Product Development

Factory Audit / Social (ETI) Audit

Production Management

Initial Production Inspections

During Production Inspections

Pre-Shipment Inspections

Production Sample Picking

Container Loading Inspections

RoHS / Reach Testing

UL / CE / FDA Pre-Testing & Certification

QPI will be your trusted quality control inspection partner in Asia

The best way to ensure the production goes smoothly is to be there… If you cannot be

there yourself, we can be there for you – your eyes and ears, on-site!

Safer: A full network of local Asian & Western quality engineers

Broader: Full quality management service across China covering all quality issues

Flexible: 100% piece-by-piece, AQL inspections, shipment overviews

A recall of 12 million cadmium-tainted “Shrek” drinking glasses sold by McDonald’s raises questions about the safety of millions of similar cheap promotional products that have been sitting in Americans’ kitchen cabinets for years.

Only glasses produced for the latest “Shrek” movie are included in the voluntary recall announced Friday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, but they were made by a company that McDonald’s has worked with for 15 years. And many other companies make similar glassware with cartoon characters or other designs baked in.

Cadmium is a carcinogen that research shows also can cause bone softening and severe kidney problems. Research also suggests that it can, like lead, hinder brain development in the very young. The CPSC said in its recall notice that long-term exposure to the element “can cause adverse health effects.”

Full story

If a company like McDonald’s is having these issues from a reputable US based supplier with whom they have had a long reputation, what chance do buyers  have buying online half a world away?

Quality Products International Limited (QPI Ltd – QPI) provide quality management services across Asia. The only way to mitigate this risk is with thorough testing!

QPI Ltd, can provide Inward Quality Control (IQC) to test batches of raw materials, or sample finished product during the production cycle.

QPI has people on the ground in China to supervise directly. With fully accredited, western owned labs right here in China, QPI can quickly and cost effectively test for lead, cadmium other heavy metals and toxins, REACH, RoHS, WEEE, AZO, EN71, Phthalate, DMFu, CPSIA and many others.

Quality Products International – QPI, provides a range of Factory Selection, Factory Auditing, Social Auditing, Product Development, Quality Assurance, DUPRO production inspection, Final Random Inspection / Pre Shipment Inspection, Container Loading Inspection and other related services in China, Asia, South East Asia / Fat East, relating to production and quality management.

One area of confusion is around the distinction between Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Some people falsely think they are in some way synonymous.

They are very closely related, in fact to be effective they are co-dependent, with a clear part A and part B. QPI certainly ensures both QA and QC are covered in any inspection or quality program that we are involved with.

Quality Assurance

This is the Part A of the two. In a fully integrated product development cycle, Quality Assurance is an ongoing event. It should be visited through the entire life of a project, and has production, post production and consumer feedback cycle.

QA typically is covered most heavily later in the product development phase, and ideally clearly defined and completed before the Quality Control Phase.

It is in essence the process of ensuring that a “good idea” is developed into a functional, viable, safe product, and determine what needs to be tested and checked in the production process.

IE> A factory owner may decide it is a good idea to make toys from soft metals.

A QA process would identify that lead often used in soft metals and is harmful to small children, which potentially will result in the good idea developing a bad product!

After the QA process determines that needs attention, the QC process would test the toys for lead. This is obviously a very narrow example, and many other elements are covered in a real QA – QC program.

Many QA programs will require test to be conducted, on raw materials, products drawn from production or finished goods.

They may be simple measurements or lab testing prove compliance / conformity with EN71, RoHS, REACH, EN13138 and many others.

QPI has a very close working relationship with TUV, ITS, SGS, Hanse Control and other labs, both locally in China, in Hong Kong and Europe.

Quality Control

This is the Part B of the two.

Where QPI has been involved in the Product Development phase, we can provide direct input for the QA process.

In many cases, a customer has developed the product and found the factory.

At QPI, each new inspection request is fully reviewed by a quality engineer to ensure that QA process has been clearly defined and recommend any perceived short falls.

Then the inspection elements and appropriate inspection protocols are defined in a check list, which is effectively the “work order” for the QC team.

There are a number of well defined protocols such as AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) that define how many units to test. Some customers request a 100% quality test.

In the case of our own inflatable brands Floaties and Hydrokids, we conduct a 24hr “stopper open” inflation test on 100% of the product to ensure there are no air leaks, including the 1^st stage safety valve.

A full QC program will generally involve:

- Inward Quality Control – IQC, which includes testing raw materials, and recoding / tracking batch numbers.

- During Process testing and inspection – DUPRO which may be random, or at specific points. Such at the commencement of raw material printing, at the commencement of each shift, when machine operators change, etc. It provides a fantastic opportunity to remedy defects before rework leads to delays and costs.

- Final Random Inspection or Pre Shipment Inspection – FRI / PSI which is typically conducted when production is compete and most product is packed. For some this is the ONLY inspection, which on failure then means managing shipment delays, rework cost disputes, and or sub standard product.

- Container Loading Inspection, as simple as ensuring the product that was inspected is actually loaded, and that the container is loaded evenly to ensure safe shipment.

- Inspection Report the last and sometimes most important step. Apart from a ship or hold decision, it can prove a brand owner has acted with due care in the case of a product failure, and it provides key step in the feedback loop with the factory, especially where improvement is needed.

At QPI we can provide on the spot initial reports, and follow up with a full report. As with the checklist, the full report is reviewed and vetted by a senior QPI Quality Engineer to ensure the report is up to standard.

Typically the Inspection Report should feed back into to the ongoing QA process.

Where repeat orders are anticipated, QPI will normally recommend the client consider upgrades or greater attention to DURPO. Where the client is happy for factory to conduct DUPRO steps, QPI can often liaise directly with production line supervisors to ensure they understand how best to remedy an issue.

The QPI Inspector and Quality Engineer reviewing the report, will also comment on any changes that may be considered for testing or inspection.

Co-dependence of QA and QC

In effect, QA is the map, and QC is the production journey.

Without the journey through production where QC occurs, the QA map is an academic classroom navigation exercise. It can be done, but achieves nothing unless implemented through a QC program in production.

On the other hand a QC program unless preceded with an effective QA program, is like a journey without a map. It may be interesting but and may lead to a pleasant destination, a waste land. In a production environment it may mean that the goods arrive in the warehouse in a defective or un-saleable form……or worse, become part of a product failure litigation and / or product recall!

Most frustrating and disappointing is that a QC program without a QA program, would typically lead to product that looks, great is of high quality, but cannot be sold as it fails to meet legislated standards!

Among other things the QA program should define what needs to be tested and how it needs to be tested.

Please contact Quality Products International if you need assistance with any element of your supply chain.